Georgia shows signs of life (for those still paying attention)
Tavarres King's second touchdown catch made the score 35-0, and the rout was on. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)
ATHENS – It’s best to not get lost in the blur of “what-ifs.”
What if the first opponent was 1-AA roadkill and not a ranked team? What if Georgia had a week to work out flaws before playing Boise State? Or an easy game to prep for South Carolina? Then would they be leading the SEC East today? What if Marcus Lattimore had suddenly declared before last week’s game, “On second thought, I’m going to save my legs for equestrian. Away with you, Mr. Spurrier”?
It’s just not worth it.
Georgia dug a deep hole, and it’s going to be a while before anybody will be able to see light again. The hole didn’t get any deeper Saturday. But otherwise, we saw what we already knew: The Bulldogs are physically superior to Coastal Carolina. They rule over all Chanticleers. Say it loud, say it proud. They led 21-0 after roughly 17 seconds and 38-0 one series into the second half, when all starters headed for Barcaloungers.
They won 59-0. If they can do this to Coastal Carolina, imagine what they could do to Liberty, and Presbyterian, and Stony Brook. Big South: You are the gum under the SEC’s shoe.
“All right. We got a victory,” coach Mark Richt said.
It was the first time Richt he could use those words in a postgame news conference in nine and a half months.
Georgia had not won a game since beating Georgia Tech on Nov. 27. Since then, Athens had witnessed various forms of suffering, anguish and humiliation: A lifeless defeat to Central Florida in the Liberty Bowl. A body slam by Boise State in the season opener. A woulda-coulda-shoulda loss to South Carolina.
“This probably won’t turn a lot of people’s heads,” quarterback Aaron Murray admitted.
But a win was needed for some kind of cleansing. Or exorcism. The Dogs just aren’t feeling the love these days, and they know it will take a long series of victories — or at least one in Florida — before they feel it again.
Even one of the team’s cheerleaders could be overheard as the final seconds ticked down, “Yay! We’re 1-2!” the words dripping with sarcasm.
The good? There is a pulse after an 0-2 start. A 59-0 win takes a certain level of effort and pride, even if the marquee reads: Godzilla vs. Bambi. It was the Dogs’ most lopsided victory since a 70-6 win over Northeast Louisiana in 1994. Richt can only hope it’s a greater launching pad than it was for Ray Goff 17 years ago.
But some of the negative vibes around the program also were reaffirmed. There were about 10,000 empty seats in Sanford Stadium at kickoff. Attendance (tickets distributed) was announced as 91,946, which is the first non-sellout (by 800) in the Mark Richt era. Georgia had sold out 64 straight. The last non-sellout came in Jim Donnan’s final game against Georgia Tech in 200.
We can quibble about how close the number was to listed capacity. But bottom line: When the most popular sports property in the state fails to sell out for the first time in 11 years, it’s significant.
So it was a little surprising when Richt said, “I don’t think it’s a big deal. It was just about taking care of business.”
For players, that last part is true. But externally, confidence will build again only if Georgia can string together wins over the next four weeks: at Mississippi, Mississippi State, at Tennessee and Vanderbilt. It would create some momentum going into the Florida game.
“Our goal is to go 10-0, and that started today,” Murray said.
“I’m sure most people just view this as as somebody we should have beaten,” cornerback Brandon Boykin said. “But a game like this, just getting the shutout, gives us confidence.”
OK: What if? What if Georgia had played Coastal Carolina first?
“I wouldn’t have wanted that,” Boykin said. “I wanted to play a tough team at the beginning of the year. That game showed us what we needed to do to get ready for South Carolina. We played better last week because we had a rough time with Boise.”
In other words, this is your team. The schedule wasn’t going to change that. Now it’s about making the headache go away. We’ll know more over the next few weeks.
By Jeff Schultz
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556 comments Add your comment
5150 UOAD
September 18th, 2011
1:11 am
Ohio St
you were not at the game tonight? WHY not?
Ohio State
September 18th, 2011
1:16 am
Nerd
Your football team is on NCAA PROBATION
has been
is again
That’s twice
back-to-back
What in the blazes makes you think anyone wants to discuss whatever junk you have to say about how great you are ?
You aren’t.
You are in the UGA blog and you are saying how great tek is. Excuse me you lost 9 of the last 10 games vs us. The last time we didn’t sell out a game was against you 11 years ago and we matched that today. Yeah, I was there. Did you go to the tek game ?
UGA 92
September 18th, 2011
1:21 am
Ohio State: 5150 could not go to the Tech game because his mom would not pick him up when it was over.
5150 UOAD
September 18th, 2011
1:22 am
This is NOT a UGA blog
This ain’t Chip Towers or Bill King’s Blog
And Ohio St SHOULD be on Probation and you it is a JOKE that they are not. Talk about Cheating and breaking rules.
How is UGA us? your Name is Ohio State
I didn’t say tech was great. I said the numbers so far are impressive. Unlike UGA and Ohio State.
5150 UOAD
September 18th, 2011
1:24 am
HAHAHAHA
92
I was at the game. No my mom couldn’t pick me up she has Cancer and doesn’t drive much anymore.
captguitarman
September 18th, 2011
1:25 am
Here we go! Yakkita, yakkita, yakkita, yakkety yak. If you could be national champs by talking your way there, Georgia and the Puppie Nation would be defending two or three national titles in a row. I haven’t seen Boykin’s tweet yet calling out Miles/LSU in the championship game, but it’s probably just a matter of time. How about some perspective? The Puppies just tromped the Little Sisters of the Poor. Contrary to popular belief, such a cake walk is NOT a “confidence builder.” It is an ass-kicking of an far outclassed team, which actually does have “student-athletes” playing for it — no match for an NFL minor league team. So please pay attention you apologists for the myth of the studen athlete in big time college football. It is akin to the New York Yankees beating the snot out of this year’s Little League champs. So please, just shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Just shut he hell up. Or this program will never change for the better as long as it is in the SEC. You have miles and miles and miles to go. And all the Puppie nation trash talk about SC mid game? Are you people delusional? Don’t answer that. SC beat one hell of a better team than Coastal Carolina. Just get down to business and get ready for Ol’ Miss. Just beating the Puppies could make their whole season as success. Underd ogs in the SEC live for games like this. Just shut up for a change and start getting ready now. Beating the Rebs won’t be a day at the beach.
aladawg
September 18th, 2011
1:29 am
Schultz eat sh– and die you stupid moron.
UGA 92
September 18th, 2011
1:32 am
5150: as someone who just lost their mother to the same condition only two months ago, may I suggest that irritating UGA followers on the AJC boards may not be the best use of your time right now.
5150 UOAD
September 18th, 2011
1:41 am
What would you suggest I do? I spent the day with Dad, Nephew, and Brother-in-Law at the Tech game watching my niece preform at halftime for band day.
I ask the Question
September 18th, 2011
1:49 am
Wonder what them Black Boys at UGA thought about them White Boys from Bosie St running up and down the field on them whipping them like whipping a plow mule?
UGA 92
September 18th, 2011
1:49 am
you have to figure that one out for yourself, chuckles. talk football or log off. you can no longer make your point so you begin using personal issues to mask your ineptness.
georgie boys
September 18th, 2011
1:54 am
can you say?
YELLOW——–JACKETS!!!!!!
5150 UOAD
September 18th, 2011
1:54 am
92 I guess you mom pulled an Uga VII & VIII couldn’t handle another UGA football season with Richt as the coach.
smart dawg
September 18th, 2011
1:55 am
Hey Madras man (I include that to identify myself) I’m glad your mama is still around, hope she keeps fighting. I was in F’ville today with my dad, my mother (from Madras/Happy valley) has been gone 5 years. Hope yours is doing OK.
Poobear Jenkins
September 18th, 2011
1:57 am
try this one on the Richt haters.
1st 10 years of coaching career.
Richt= 96-34
Bear Bryant= 67-34-7
Joe Paterno= 94-18
Bobby Bowden= First 10 at FL ST= 83-32-2
Worst 3 consecutive yr record
Richt= 24-15
Bowden= 22-17
Bryant= 20-13-1
Paterno= 16-20
In case my point is not clear. Get off the man’s back. In addition to being a good man, and running a clean program, he is a VERY GOOD coach.
UGA 92
September 18th, 2011
1:59 am
5150: such swagger on a message board. impressive. my last post with you until you talk football.
UGA 92
September 18th, 2011
2:04 am
5150: she was a Bama Fan
smart dawg
September 18th, 2011
2:08 am
Back off 92, He has been dealing with his mother’s illness for a while, and don’t attack me. my mother’s battle has ended.
UGA 92
September 18th, 2011
2:15 am
Smart Dawg = 5150. Nice try. Put the Zima’s down and wonder off to the nerdery. I’m done. This back and forth is boring and and an insult to those trying to talk football.
kickin asphalt
September 18th, 2011
2:16 am
Bow-Wow. I take back all those bad things I said about CMR…he really put a whoopin on those Coastal Carolinians…what was I thinking?
kickin asphalt jr
September 18th, 2011
2:18 am
Oh yeah, Turd Homers – now that Fl. State game is a loss you can be proud of!
smart dawg
September 18th, 2011
2:26 am
92: You are a royal POS.
UGA 92
September 18th, 2011
2:27 am
then bow to me.
Jason
September 18th, 2011
2:28 am
Bulldog Nation to Jeff: We NEVER stopped paying attention.
smart dawg
September 18th, 2011
2:34 am
92 Bow to you for what? You’re too f’ing stupid to talk to.
UGA 92
September 18th, 2011
2:37 am
Please do not tell me you are too dim to get that response? Good Lord, please don’t tell me you graduated from UGA?
smart dawg
September 18th, 2011
2:50 am
I graduated from UGA? No. I went to college instead. What is this “bow to me crap”? You’ll notice ny posts are free of spelling errors and consist of complete sentences. The name smart dawg is an oxymoron.l
smart dawg
September 18th, 2011
2:55 am
my, not ny. Only because I’m disgusted with your total disrespect for 5150 UOAD’s mother’s condition and the loss of my own.
UGA 92
September 18th, 2011
3:06 am
I’ll explain this and then (and I mean it this time) I quit. If one (you) is around royalty (me, the royal POS) then that person who is not royalty, is required by protocol to bow to the person of royal blood. Have you ever seen anyone bow to, say, the King of Jordan or the Queen of England? Same principle. BTW, Jordan is a country next to Israel.
PS: I cannot believe I just wasted the last 90 minutes of my life debating with one (or maybe two) of the dumbest persons on the planet. Good Night.
bugsquacher
September 18th, 2011
3:08 am
Good win Dawgs!
But what does it really mean? Does it mean we are a contender in the SEC? Probably not. Does it mean we can contend with second tier divison one teams? Probably. Is this where the Dawg Nation wants to be? Probably not. Should we expect more out of the Georgia football program? Yes. Why? 1- one of the top football facilities in the country, 2- great booster and fan contributions and support, 3- great recruiting classes …. just to name a few. The facts speak for themselves, we are trending down, we are not feared in the SEC, we are known as a team which cant finish. LOOK AT THE FACTS…… they cant be disputed….
1-GEORGIA is a combined 0-5 against Top 25 teams in 2010 and 2011
2- GEORGIA has lost 10 of its last 12 against ranked teams. (2-10 record)
3- GEORGIA is now 15-14 in his last 29 games
4-GEORGIA is 6-10 in the past 16 SEC games.
5- GEORGIA is 3-5 in their last 8 games going back to last season
6- GEORGIA has won 1 of it last 4. (and it wasnt a powerhouse we beat today)
LETS SEE WHAT NEXT WEEK BRINGS WITH MISSISSIPPI
DIZZY DAWG
September 18th, 2011
3:15 am
We beat the living chanticleer out of those suckers. Hung 59 points on the number 6 team in the nation which should assure us of a top ten ranking next week!!! I can’t wait to see…oh, you mean that’s not them? My bad. Never mind.
UGA 92
September 18th, 2011
3:15 am
One more thing genius. Your post at 2:50 which states, “You’ll notice ny posts are free of spelling errors and consist of complete sentences.” Please note the following:
1. The “No.” that is your second sentence is indeed not a complete sentence. A single word is not considered a sentence.
2. In your fourth sentence, the punctuation goes inside the quotation marks.
3. You misspelled “my.” That is a hard one, though.
B.A. English, UGA. Class of 1992
GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!!
smart dawg
September 18th, 2011
3:23 am
92, I’ll see you the next time I stoop down and go through the drive through.
P.S. It’s not Zima. It’s Brucihladdich. Google it.
UGA 92
September 18th, 2011
3:28 am
SD: I’d quit too if I were you. Stay golden, Pony-Boy!
smart dawg
September 18th, 2011
3:37 am
92, admit it. You are a fan of a mid/lower tier team. You are a (sic) graduate of uga. Isn’t that special. Your life depends on a group of thugs who either perform (or not) on a football field. I take great delight in making fun of people like you. So live with it. Your B.A. English, Class of 1992 entitles you to do what? Your parents wasted a great deal of money on your “education”. What do you have to show for it?
UGA 92
September 18th, 2011
3:38 am
How bout a $1.2 mil in my 401k?
UGA 92
September 18th, 2011
3:42 am
I have to admit, more than half is my wife’s money, but legally it’s mine. You see, when you go to UGA, you get to meet and marry very pretty girls and some can make more money that you do. One of the perks of going to the greatest school on the planet.
smart dawg
September 18th, 2011
3:47 am
It’s not enough to retire. If you truly did graduate in ‘92, you should be approximately 41. Experience has taught me that most people who post numbers exaggerate them, so you better keep working for your boss, the GT grad. You should also be thankful to him for providing your retirement plan.
smart dawg
September 18th, 2011
3:51 am
greatest school on the planet? B.A. in English? I just ruptured my small intestine. Typical. You are lucky you found some bimbo stupid enough to get married to you.
smart dawg
September 18th, 2011
3:55 am
Were you a sigma nu? This is hilarious.
UGA 92
September 18th, 2011
3:57 am
Ahhh, you got me. It’s no where near that, not even close, but it’s nice to dream. I was hoping you would suspend belief and buy into the fact that I have over a million buck in the bank. Kind of the same way I am suspending belief and pretending you are a real man and not a 16 year old with his pants around his ankles flipping his browser back and forth between barely legal all-male porn and this verbal squirt-fest we’ve been having for the last few hours. My boss went to UCLA. The guys who went to Tech in my company fix the computers. I got to go to bed.
DodgerDAWG
September 18th, 2011
4:03 am
Jeff, Do us all a favor…go back to Santa Monica and write about the Vikings and make 6.50 an hour. First the game at Sanford today WAS a sellout (technically) and secondly you have just proven that you still do no know crap about Georgia Game Day. UGA dismantled a team better than any thing th Jok by the Coke will see until the DAWGS roll into Atlanta and BTW who else in the nation can schedule 2 top 10 teams in the nation and lose to both of them and STILL receive more votes than GATech in the polls? Go Maybe the Santa Monica Vikings of the Pacific Coast Mighty Mites may welcome your banter….Go Left as with the rest of the AJC
smart dawg
September 18th, 2011
4:03 am
“You see, when you go to UGA, you get to meet and marry very pretty girls and some can make more money that (SIC) you do.”
Actually, 92, my education entitled me to send my son to a school that enabled him to get a job with a firm that doesn’t interview anyone from UGA.
Be VERY nice to your father-in-law.
UGA 92
September 18th, 2011
4:15 am
I was nice to him. He passed 5 weeks before my mom. Both rather suddenly from Cancer. He was one of the best guys I’ve ever met, and he treated my like his own son. I’ll save you the hissy-fit about being insensitive. I don’t care what you think. Anyone who spends this much energy as you do hating a school they never went to needs special understanding. I’m glad your kid did not go to UGA, he would have probably gotten beaten up weekly. UGA is only for the strong, not the weak.
smart dawg
September 18th, 2011
4:24 am
Well, 92, I don’t have to go to bed. I am my own boss. I have been for 31 years. There is a pantry full of scotch waiting. Nor do I have to depend on my father-in-law to fund my SEP. I did it myself. If we inherit anything from him, we’ll pass it through to his grandchildren. Criticize my spelling/grammar as you choose.
BTW, you owe an apology to 5150 UOAD
smart dawg
September 18th, 2011
4:29 am
Sorry, 92, my son can take care of himself. He had a full ride at any school in Ga, but chose to go elsewhere. Face it sport, you married well. Maybe. Now it’s up to you not to lose it.
Get Real
September 18th, 2011
5:03 am
Hey Columbus. When was the last time your “pick-em” was published other than on some lame blog somewhere? You are about stupid.
Boobie Bowden
September 18th, 2011
5:07 am
Take Missy and the points. Dawgs still toothless.
PACIFIC PAPA!
September 18th, 2011
5:30 am
I’m a UGA grad and I love the DAWGS, not the coach. He doesn’t deserve my love. He deserted me, not the other way around.
Someone posted a very interesting set of statistics showing how Bowden, Paterno, etc. did in their first ten years. Their results were not very good.
Richt did great in his first five and has been on the slides ever since. And all those coaches won NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS. Richt has even got us to the finals but Adams, McGarity, et al. want to keep this guy at the helm.
Another statistic is more revealing. In the latest stats on Rivals.com, we are 21st in the nation in recruiting. More ominously, Florida is 4th, Alabama 5th, LSU is 8th, Auburn is 10th, South Carolina is 12th, Tennessee 16th and then us at 21. We’re in the third tier!!!! Not good.
When recruiting is going great there is cause for optimism because by some indicia the rankings are the rankings and everything else being equal, we should do well in future years when we’re in the first tier.
So to be 21st, third tier, is a warning that we’re not doing something right (not winning is an obvious something).
I’ve told all who will listen that recruiting is an indicator of what high school coaches think of our program. They guide their athletes to programs that they think are going to win in determining where that kid will go to college.
Obviously, they don’t think very well of us, or not like they used to. At least that’s my take on it.
I read these comments too often because it saddens me that there are so many delusional people who support Richt for the wrong reasons: he’s a fine man and a good Christian. Nothing wrong with those traits, by the way, but in the market place, his first attribute should be that he’s a damn good coach. He isn’t.
Consistently winning makes a good coach. We don’t know what that is because we haven’t been consistent winners going on six years now. On the contrary, we play like a third tier team.
If you got an OC whose background is Jacksonville State, why would you expect him to be a good coach without intense seasoning? And a S&C coach who is the video co-ordinator? Oh, he was S&C some 15 years ago.
Answer this question: would Saban or Meyer have those two on their staff. My bet is they would laugh and say “you got to be kidding.” We’re trying to win on the cheap and have a head coach who wants all to beholden to him in his running the same offense year-after-year because he wants to do the same thing over and over again.
Off with his head!
Over and out.
Frankly, I’m amazed that anyone would believe that God, Jesus, whoever would favor us over others. Afterall, if we are all God’s children, then we’re all alike, like it or not. So, please, cut the crap about praying to Jesus for the DAWGS and asserting that He loves Georgia better than South Carolina. Astounding.
Some of you may be right that Richt will be UGA’s coach for many years. I doubt that but we will see. I’ve tried to figure what happened that has caused us to be in such ill repair. My son laughed and said “dad, we’re on the downs because CMR is not a good coach.” Saban, Miles, Meyer and Chizik(?) weren’t coaching in the SEC then. Therein lies the difference.
I wish Richt no ill, I just wish he were gone. He has worn me out to where I have lost interest, no, my passion for Georgia football. I long for that passion to return. The BullDAWG nation, so-called, is badly split.
I have a friend who says “if we
We’re in the third tier. That means we are the seventh team in the SEC in recruiting. We beat out Ole Miss, Miss. St., Kentucky, Vanderbilt
Ohio State
September 18th, 2011
6:53 am
UGA played 18 players who had not played all season (which ended this season for all intents and purposes), got in to play in this game. DeAngelo Tyson was suspended for the game for us.
Every blog on the AJ-C is an UGA blog, bar none. That is because all Georgia tek fans – both of them – spend their every day in the UGA blog. Georgia shows signs of Life, as the title to this blog, makes this the UGA blog. Further, when the paper finally got delivered to me this morning, I noticed that Georgia tek gave up
19 First Downs
19 First Downs given up by Georgia tek’s “Defense” – and, you mean to tell me no one with Georgia tek could point that out last night – not that anyone gives a crud about your stinking football program over there. Tell me, did you play the game at GRANT FIELD – what a name for a football field in downtown Atlanta – given our history DOWNTOWN in the War of Northern Aggression and he of course the Commander and Chief of the union army, Ulysses S. Grant, and you name your football field built right after the War of Northern Aggression : GRANT FIELD, really smart Georgia tek, really smart.